Princess Selene
by MarinePixie
Summary: The second daughter of King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity was never to leave the crystal palace for reasons unknown to her and forced to remain hidden in the darkness from the world around her and live a life she wished to escape from but light can be found in even the darkest of all places...
1. Chapter 1

I don't remember when I first knew I was different. Or rather, that my life belonged to others, beside myself. I used to think that little girls everywhere in the world were called princess by the people around them but that was not the case. I soon found out that I was called princess because that's what I was or rather what I am. The second daughter King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity making me second in the line to the throne of earth and the moon and a princess… And what little girl does not dream of growing up as a princess? Wearing beautiful gowns and living in a wondrous palace... However some palaces are not at all what you'd think. Even a palace can be a prison especially the ones protected by crystal. Mama never explained to me why I had to have a guard follow me wherever I went nor would she tell me why I had to have my lessons by myself. Nor did papa or any of the senshi especially when I asked why I wasn't allowed to leave the palace. "Princess Selene?"

"Mhhm?" I murmur as I continue to stare at the never ending crystal that surrounded my home as I floated in the fountain of the palace gardens. It hadn't changed in the hour I had been here nor had it changed from yesterday or the day before that and it wasn't going to change anytime soon.

"You'll be late for dinner if you don't get up and dry off now."

I stop floating and sit down in the water and look at my faithful guard before taking a deep sigh. "And why do I care Daichi?" I ask, annoyed that I was being told to come out of the water even though I know that it wasn't Daichi's fault, he was just what he was told and I didn't want him to get into trouble.

"Because your having dinner with their majesties and the crown princess." Daichi informs me.

"Ah, yes." I wearily reply as I stand up and climb out of the fountain, refusing any assistance from Daichi. Just because I was a princess doesn't mean I wasn't capable of doing anything myself. "Do I really have to go?"

"Yes your highness, I'm afraid you must go as you haven't had dinner with the rest of the royal family in over a week. I was specifically instructed by the queen to make sure you turn up to dinner and I cannot disobey an order from your mother."

"You could, it would be quite easy to and my mother won't say anything about it if you just tell her that I refused to come. She'll believe that without even asking for an explanation as she's so used my disobedience." I explain and as I attempted to ring out the excess water from my dress.

"The Queen knows you listen to me Princess." Daichi says as a small hint of his smile appears on his face.

I sighed Daichi had a point, I listened to him more than I did my own parents (though really I mean my mother) and as such they were trying to control me through him quite unsuccessfully as despite Daichi following my mother's orders, he allowed me to make my own choices and merely hoped that I'd follow his advice and decide to do the right thing. Daichi had been with me for as long as I could remember, unless it was his day off but even then I saw more than my own parents on occasion and sometimes he was what kept me from losing my mind. "If I go to this dinner, what's in it for me?" I question as I turn my attention away form my dress to my odangoes.

"Spending time with your family."

"That's funny Daichi, but you know I don't like keeping company with any of them except for my father and I've had hundreds of years with them already so a whole day to myself isn't asking for too much, is it?" I question, half jokingly and half being serious.

"I think it's time you returned to your quarters to properly dry off and get changed, your highness." Daichi replies but he knows I'm right but he won't comment on the matter because he claims it isn't his place to comment on my estrangement with my mother and sister. Knowing that this conversation is over and I'll have to go to this dinner with my family, I dramatically storm off back into the palace and as I do I can hear Daichi following behind me as he has to go everywhere that I go except for my bedroom unless invited in and my bathroom. When we arrive at my quarters I open the door and Daichi stands guard outside my door. "I'll be here waiting when you're ready to leave." He tells me before I close the door behind me.

Discarding my soaked dress, I dry myself off before getting dressed in a dress exactly the same as the one I was wearing except instead of the pale blue version I was wearing earlier it was a much darker shade of blue. My royal "attire" only consists of the dress my mother wore when before she ascended the throne except that I rarely wear it in white unless I'm forced to, instead I tend to wear a lilac version or other colored versions of it as it matched my hair which was a weird shade of purple/lilac and white as it although it seemed you could clearly see the very pale shades of purple in it. But as weird as my hair colour was I did wear my hair in the typical odango style that my mother and the queens before her styled their hair, however my ones resembled a heart shape that my mother did for me as a child and i had never been bothered to change it. Once I had finished getting ready I make my way over to my floor length mirror and sigh as I stare at my reflection.

Due to the effects of my mother's silver crystal the people here are functionally immortal, enjoying life spans of over a thousand years like my most of my family. My parents were not born into Crystal Tokyo but appear to be in their early twenties despite their real age. My sister was seventeen years old physically but over nine hundred years old in reality. Me on the other? I aged normally, unlike my sister who had aged at an irregular rate and the rest of the populace with had incredibly long life spans thanks to the power of my mother's crystal. No one was really sure why, then again no one was ever really sure about me. Taking a deep breath I make my way to the door and open it before reluctantly stepping out of the comfort of my bedroom. "I'm not going." I announce, as I was getting dressed I had made up my mind that I would not go to dinner.

"Princess Selene, the queen has made it perfectly clear that you must join the rest of the royal family for dinner."

"You may tell Neo-Queen Serenity that I will be not be joining her and the rest of the royal family for dinner and if she has a problem with it then she may take the issue up with me, that's if she has any time to spare for youngest child." I tell Daichi and he reluctantly nods slowly and I watch as he departs from outside of my room and a guard takes over his post outside my bedroom door. Now that Daichi was gone to deal with my parents I could finally get away from the palace for a while.

"Your highness, would you like to go somewhere?" the new guard asks me and I happily nod and I begin to walk in the opposite direction that Daichi had left in with the guard. It was rare times like these when I was left alone with a palace guard that I could do as I pleased as they wouldn't disobey me or tell me that my mother wouldn't like what I was doing. As the two of us walked I had to pick up my pace as although my parents would reluctantly accept that I was not coming to dinner, they were bound to check on me eventually and I had to be gone before that as Papa could always find me without getting out of his seat. After a few minutes walking I finally enter the teleportation room, which is primarily used for transport between the other planetary planets.

"Now you can come with me or stay here but either way I am going and there is nothing anyone can say or do to stop me." I announce to the guard who reluctantly nods as he steps on to the teleportation grid and as I join him, I type in the co-ordinates of my destination and close my eyes. I feel the familiar feeling of lightness going through me and when I open my eyes I'm no longer in the Crystal Palace but the Moon Palace and I immediately made my way outside to the palace gardens. To which I just sit there and watch earth. It amazes me, every time I sit here how earth looks. It scares me to think that I actually live there on a planet so big yet I'm confined to an impenetrable Crystal Palace where I'm forced to live by strict rules. That's why I prefer the Moon Castle to the Crystal Palace – don't get me wrong I love the Crystal Palace it's my home, I was born there but it doesn't offer the sense of freedom I get whenever I come to the Moon Castle.

Here I can wonder around without getting in trouble or worry about possible dangers. Back home I can't leave the crystal palace seeing as it's "too dangerous" that's what everyone has told me since the day I was born but they never tell me why it's so dangerous however it's really because I don't have senshi powers. It's forbidden to talk about but I'm not stupid, I figured it out a long time ago as there have been no new threats to earth in a long while now and both my mother and my sister are allowed to leave the palace and they are the queen and the crown princess, yet I the lowly princess cannot. It took me a while to figure out why my family could leave and I couldn't but I finally figured it out.

"Your highness I really think we should be heading back to earth..." The guard tells me and I know it's because he scared stiff less of getting in trouble with either of my parents which is never going to happen. If anyone was going to get into trouble then it was going to be me.

"Fine, we'll return to the Crystal Palace." I state with a small sigh as I get up before walking back in the direction of the palace, I didn't want to go home but it's not like I had much of a choice. People do tend to notice when a princess disappears from an entire planet…


	2. Chapter 2

When my guard and I arrived back at the Crystal Palace my mother was already waiting for me with an annoyed look on her beautiful face. Neo-Queen Serenity was without a doubt the most beautiful women in the solar system and was beloved by many and hated by few which happened to include me, her own daughter. My mother doesn't say anything and instead she motions for me to follow her and reluctantly I do despite knowing full well that it was pointless as there's nothing really she could do. I can't leave the palace she can't ground me and yelling never got anywhere we with me but my mother did always love to try to get me to behave myself. I follow my mother into a room that she dubs the 'family room' and she motions for me to sit down and mere seconds after I do she begins. "Where have you been?" She demands and I couldn't help but frown as it was weird watching my mother speak because it looked like and somewhat sounded like me but in fact it wasn't me.

"No where." I lie shamelessly, I understood that lying to my parents wasn't very nice or the right thing to do but as my parents insisted on lying to me I happily returned the favor, much to their annoyance. Although I tended to lie to my mother and sister more as my father was becoming quite good at figuring out when I was lying to him.

"Do not lie to me young lady, your father tried to find you." Mama stated bringing up the fact that Papa can never find me when I leave earth as his powers only effect earth where as mine don't, fortunately my powers affect all the planets. I suspected that it was because unlike my father I'm a child born of two planets seeing as mama was originally born on the moon in her previous life or the one before that. I don't really know but it was an educated guess. Like I said before, people aren't too sure about me.

My mother is clearly not happy with my lack of co-operation although she really should be used to it by now. "Fine then, if you must know I was at the moon castle but I really don't see how that concerns you" I say matter of factly.

"I'm your mother of course it concerns me, I wanted you to have dinner with myself, your father and your sister but you don't turn up."

I roll my eyes in bemusement, my mother was never one for sarcasm nor could she understand it, as she was such an odango as my father used to tell me. "Shocking…" I reply.

"Why do you do these things to me Selene? Your sister doesn't, she turned up to dinner on time without having to be asked several times." Mama tells me with a shake of her of head.

"I'm not Small Lady." I retort using the line which I have to frequently use with my mother as she loves nothing more than comparing me to my perfect sister who can do nothing wrong in my mother's eyes whilst I do it all the time.

"I never said you were, I know perfectly well who you are Selene." My mother replies and as this conversation was going nowhere in particular I got up out of my seat in order to leave so I could get something to eat as I did miss dinner. "Where are you going Selene? This conversation isn't over and I am far from being done with you."

I reluctantly sigh as I turn to my mother. "Well I'm done with you for today mama, so if you don't mind I'd rather go something totally irrelevant with my time and besides we both know that you don't have the time of day to be dealing with me. So whatever else you want to say, pass it on to Daichi and he'll pass the message along later and I'll pretend to give it some thought."

"Selenity stay where you are." Mama says with a clear voice but yet the authority behind it is very clear, the use of my full name tells me my mother must be really mad if she's calling me Selenity. Given that I'm not too fond of being called Selenity given that both my mother and sister are called Serenity, I much prefer going by Selene.

"Why mama? This is wasting both of our time as be known that you can't do anything seeing as I'm never allowed to leave the palace despite the fact that I am no longer a child." I state.

"Yes you are." Mama defiantly tells me.

"I may be stuck in the body of a child or rather an adolescent but I certainly didn't have the mind of one. Now before you argue the teenage point that I know you're about to come out with mother let me ask you something." I ask as I become fully interested in the conversation. "Weren't you the one going around saving the universe when you were only fourteen? Then in the time of the old silver millennium didn't you sneak down to earth to see Papa when you were the same age as my current physical age despite the fact it was forbidden for the people of the earth and moon to have communication?"

"Well yes…" Mama begins.

"And correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Minako, Makoto, Rei and Ami all the same age as you and I do believe that Small Lady was even younger than that along with Hotaru…" I say continuing my point; my mother was going to regret not letting me leave earlier.

"Yes, you are correct Selene." Mama admits as she knows I'm right, I'm always right.

"So the fate of this solar system depended on a bunch of children who were basically the same age as me and younger but yet I cannot leave the palace? Do you not hear the nonsense that you're saying mother because it makes you look quite unintelligent? Not to mention hypocritical…" I add as my voice becomes slightly louder, my voice tended to go up a couple of octaves when this particular subject came up.

"Selene it's completely different and you know it." My mother says attempting to lie her way out of it.

"How is it?" I demand and my mother refuses to answer so instead I'll do it for her. "Oh I know, well in fact everybody knows it's because I'm not special like everyone else…"

"It's not like that Selene, you have to believe me." Mama urges and I just laugh at her audacity to continue lying to my face.

"Well here is your chance to explain Neo-Queen Serenity, for once please tell me why I have never been allowed to leave the palace since the day I was born and please spare me the lies as I'm certain that I've heard every single one." I demand keeping voice at a reasonable level as I refuse to lose my temper in front of my mother; I have too much pride to let her see how much of an effect she has on my temperament. "I thought so…"

"Selene…"

"Don't get upset on my account mother because I'm most certainly don't extend the same courtesy towards you." I retort as I leave the room, being polite enough not to slam the door on my way out seeing as I was brought up to know better.


	3. Chapter 3

After a long dinner in the palace kitchens, Daichi and I wonder around the palace as I decide on what do next. That's the problem with living in an impenetrable palace, you run out of things to do rather quickly especially when you're in a situation like mine. Although I suspect that I am the only princess who is forbidden from ever leaving her home. But my decision on what to do next was seemingly made for me when my father appeared out of nowhere. "Selenity in here, right now…" My father tells me and I walk into his office and I sit down and moments later Papa comes in and sits down behind his desk. "What were you thinking?"

My father King Endymion was the only person in my immediate family who I deemed to have some remaining sanity and actually liked on most days but I know we're not here to have a chat and talk about our days. I really must have done something to merit summoning by both of my parents. "Whatever do you mean Papa?" I ask as he could be referring to about the twenty different things I've done today although I know exactly what he's talking about.

"Your mother wanted you to join us all for dinner Selene and you knew that before you decided to play this stunt."

"Well I didn't want to go dinner and I didn't appreciate being told I had to go."

My father sighed and I feel bad for a small second, along with Daichi and the rest of the senshi he's been stuck paying mediator between my mother and I. "Selene, I wish you wouldn't do this."

"Do what? Exercise my free speech and opinion? Because if you haven't noticed Papa we don't life in a dictatorship." I say although I often certainly think that we do with all the rules my parents have set in place for me.

"No that's not what I was referring to although I am vey proud of you for being so confident in your ability to argue your way out of anything that's put in front of you. But I was talking about your disappearing act you did in order to avoid coming to dinner…"

"You can hardly blame me, after all most of the time none of you even register I'm even there." I begin and Papa sighs and I can see what's coming next but I continue nonetheless. "How long did it take for you to realize that I left Earth? And please don't lie to me because that's what mama's just been doing to me and frankly I'm getting quite sick of it for today."

"Selene I am your father I make a habit of knowing where you are at all times and to answer you question Selene, I knew you weren't coming to dinner even before Daichi came to confirm what I already knew. I know how your mind works, I can even see the wheels turning in your pretty little head… I'm sorry if you think that we don't notice when you come to dinner, it means a lot to me when you do…" Papa tells me with a smile as he attempts to cheer me up, which he knows will work as papa is correct as its eerie how well he knows what I'm thinking.

"Look I get it okay? You don't have to explain it dad, I'm not Small Lady, whose the heir to the throne and the all important crown princess and Senshi who needs all this attention so I get why I'm ignored a lot of the time." I reply.

"Selene, you are important."

"Not as important as Small Lady, it seems." I note.

"I'm not having this conversation with you Selene, yes we do spend more time with your sister because of her future role but that doesn't mean we love her anymore than we love you." Papa tells me. "You are very important to me Selene and to everyone else and we all love you so very much. I wish you could see that…"

Papa I believed but my mother I didn't. "You might want to talk to mama about that because that's not the impression I got when she compared me to Small Lady yet again."

"Selene…" Papa begins with a small shake of his head.

"One of these days I'm going to prove it to you that see favors Small Lady over me and what are you going to say me then Papa?"

"Why don't you tell me what you did today Selene." My father asks changing the subject entirely.

"The same as everyday; nothing… makes you wonder why I was even born." I bluntly reply and Papa looks at me in shock. We all knew that I wasn't supposed to exist, Every queen of the moon has had one daughter and yet my mother somehow had two and no one really could explain why so instead they called me a 'miracle' child and if anyone could do it, then it was my mother. Who was beloved by the entire world for some reason and I personally didn't see it myself. My relationship with my mother was strained to say the least and okay, so i knew she was Sailor Moon back in the 20th century and she saved the world from evil but to me she was the devil incarnate. Ever since I could remember she had these rules set in place for me, such as Daichi or somebody else having to go with me wherever I went, having my lessons in seclusion from the others and the most important one of them all; me not being allowed to leave the palace. At times I didn't see the point of being alive if I was hidden in the palace away from everything, even the people didn't know what I looked like and had taken to calling me "the other daughter" as I was hidden away and only a few people outside of the palace had the honor to see me.

"Selene…" My father begins uneasily as the subject of me being stuck in here comes up yet again.

I shake my head as I get up from my seat, I don't even know why I even brought this up or believed that my own parents would ever give in to their guilty conscious and tell me why I can't leave the palace. The subject of me leaving the palace is taboo, no one is allowed to speak about it let alone think about it. "Don't Papa… I can't have this conversation with you again, not if you keep insisting on lying to me."

My father gets up from his chair and comes over to me and places a kiss on the top of my head. "I can only imagine how hard this is for you Selene but you have to trust us. We're doing this for your own good."

"Trust works both ways Papa, I can't trust you if your not honest with me." I retort.

Papa manages to laugh. "How about I make you an offer? If you behave yourself and don't sneak off the planet for the rest of the week I'll take you to Elysion?"

I narrow my eyes at my father, I'm very skeptical when it comes to promises as usually they are never kept. "Just you and me, right? No mama or Small Lady and definitely no guards especially Daichi, I want him to have a few days off…"

"Yes Selene, just the two of us."

"You promise? I'm not going to agree unless you give me your word that you will take me there and not ditch me at the last minute like you and the others usually do." I demand referring to various parts of my childhood where I was let down and disappointed by my parents dumping my something else that was more important.

"I promise Selene, there is nothing more that I would like to do then spend time with my beloved youngest daughter." My father tells me as he affectionately pulls one of my odangoes.


	4. Chapter 4

I was excited. For the first time in god knows how long I was excited about something in my life and that was, that I had done what Papa had asked and behaved myself for the rest of the week and now it was the day that he was taking me to Elysion. I couldn't even remember the last time that Papa and I had spent more than an hour together as he was usually busy doing something King related and I was shut away somewhere. So anytime that I got to spend with just him, I treasured add to the fact that Daichi got a long overdue and well deserved day off from me. As I stood in my bedroom deciding on what to wear when there was a knock on my door. I looked at my watch, it was only 8am I wasn't meeting Papa for another hour. "Come in…" I wearily call out as I had no idea of who it could be as I rarely had visitors to my bedroom.

The door creeks open and slowly but surely someone walks in and it turns out to be my elder sister. Despite the fact that my elder sister "Chibi-Usa" or Usagi Small Lady Serenity as she was named at birth is the crown princess and the future queen of the silver millennium I absolutely did not get along with her at all and I could not take her seriously to save my life. Sure she was a senshi and other things, one of them being my sister but I just didn't like her although if I had to I would begrudgingly admit that I loved her. "Good morning Selene…" she begins.

"What do you want Usagi?" I demand as I know that my sister isn't here to spend time with me, as she hates spending time with me as much as I hate spending time with her. She much prefers to spend her time with Helios in Elysion, not that it bothered me much as I rarely ever saw my sister for more then two hours a day if I was lucky. I didn't call my sister Chibi-Usa like everyone else as I found it to be stupid and redundant as opposed to being cute like everyone saw it. I tended to call my sister by her givens name Usagi or Serenity and then there was Small Lady, which she hated me calling her as she wanted people to take her seriously and not call her by a name that was clearly meant for a child. My sister's title now was technically Princess Lady Serenity but I refused to call her that so she was stuck with Small Lady unless I decided to call her Usagi on those few but rare occasions like today.

"Papa asked me–" Small Lady begins and even before my sister finishes her sentence I know what she's telling me.

"–He's not coming is he?" I guess and my voice wavers a bit and it's obvious to both my sister and I that I'm not happy over this news. In fact I'm rather upset not to mention disappointed.

"No, he's not… he was going to come and he was on his way but then he got called into a meeting with mama." My sister tells me as I climb back into bed, I didn't see the point of doing anything anymore so I figured I'd just stay in bed. "But we can always do something."

"I'll pass but thank you for offering or rather pass that message along to papa, tell him that I appreciate it but I'd rather not have him forcing you into offering to spend time with me. If I wanted to spend time with you, I'd ask myself not having papa set up a play date as if I'm a child Small Lady." I spit.

"How do you know that Selene?"

From my bed I turn to look at my sister. "I didn't but it wasn't to hard to figure it out seeing as I see and know everything that goes on in this palace Small Lady such as what you had for breakfast. That's one of the perks of always being constantly stuck in here, I know everything about how this place runs."

"You've been televiewing, haven't you?" Small Lady figures out much to my displeasure.

Televiewing was what we called a power of mine which was commonly know as Remote Viewing, it involved seeing things that that weren't in my immediate view with my mind. I could see things that were perhaps hidden from physical view or distance such as people, places, objects and events. "So what if I have?" I question preparing myself from the lecture that I know is coming next.

Small Lady sighs, just like everyone sighs when they hear I've been televiewing, they all have an opinion on it and let's just say it's not exactly a positive one. And everyone had made his or her opinions pretty clear on that. Not that it was any of their business. "Selene, you know mama doesn't like it when you teleview…"

"Well I don't like the fact that I'm stuck in this hellhole every single day whilst you can go about as you please no thanks to mama nor do I tell her how to govern the planet. So she has no right to tell me whether I can use my powers just like you don't have the right to comment on how I chose to use them and you can tell her that I said that!" I snootily reply, my sister had no place to tell what I could or couldn't do as she had almost killed me before I was even born when she touched the silver crystal and caused it to disappear. Then mama was attacked by the enemy and the two of us spent a month is some crystal coffin as we recovered from the attack.

"Selene…"

"Just leave Usagi and send Daichi in on your way out!" I harshly retort and my sister leaves so she doesn't have to endure anymore of my bad mood. I should feel bad because it's not really her fault that Papa has once again left me but he wasn't here for me talk my anger out on and my sister was just being a general annoyance.


	5. Chapter 5

For once my sister didn't argue with me and I hear the door shut and then footsteps in my room and I recognize them to be Daichi and once I'm sure that my sister's gone I let out a deep sigh. I wasn't going to cry, I stopped crying whenever my parents let me down years again. I was used to them abandoning me because something more important, I stopped crying when I was in the nine regions and I had been trying to stop getting mad once I had turned eleven. But it was still a work in progress. "Daichi…" I begin.

"Yes Princess."

"I'm sorry."

"I know you are Selene but this isn't your fault, you know that right?" Daichi questions, he always asked me this question when this happened. He was the only one who had ever taken the time to assure me that it wasn't my fault that my parents didn't want to spend time with me. I don't know where I'd be without him.

Perhaps but I still felt bad for Daichi who was constantly stuck with me despite this being his day off. "I promise that I'll behave myself for as long as possible."

"You always do."

"Daichi?"

"Yes Princess?"

"I don't think I'll be getting out of bed today, I just don't see the point in doing anything today so feel free to sit down and read a book." I quietly say and moments later I hear Daichi's footsteps heading toward the armchair that's in the left hand corner of my room. The two of us sit there in my room for god knows how long until there was a knock at my door and I briefly glance at my door suspiciously before I glance over to Daichi who puts down the book he's reading to go to the door. I sit up in bed as he opens the door and another palace guard walks in holding a bunch of white roses. There's only one person I receive white roses from and I only get them when they were sorry for something they had done that had upset me. Which was quite frequent.

"Princess Selene, you father asked if these could be delivered to you." The guard tells me as he hands me the flowers.

"My forgiveness will not and cannot be brought especially with flowers!" I yell as I throw the flowers to the ground, if my father thought that I would forgive him for abandoning me with a bunch of flowers then he was very much mistaken. "And you can go tell my father that!"

"Calm down your highness." Daichi tells me as he picks up the flowers and hands them back the guard who brought them in and motions for him to quickly leave the room.

"Will everyone stop telling me what to do?" I angrily snap.

As ever Daichi remain clam and level headed whilst dealing with me, he had the patience of a saint whereas I had none at all. "Selene, you know that I would never tell you what to do but you know what will happen if you lose your temper and I just wanted to remind of it so you could calm yourself down before anything could happen.

I sighed as I laid back down in bed. Although I hated to admit it but Daichi had a point, I hated being told what to do, first it was the whole not being able to leave the palace and the second was that I could not lose my temper because it could cause a natural disaster. I blamed Papa for this as because he was born as the crown prince of Earth he had power over earth and as his daughter I just had to have the same. For one person I sure had a lot of power in me which was annoying and most of them came from my father like the psychometry and being able to heal others and myself but as the daughter of the former Crown Prince I could control earth to certain extent i.e. whenever I get angry I tend to cause an earthquakes. This was annoying as my temper could sometimes rival that of the Mars'. "Thank you…" I softly say because as mad as I was with my father I did not want to cause any harm to earth or it's inhabitants.

"Your welcome." Daichi tells me with a small smile but I can't muster one back.

The two of us resumed our silence; Daichi reading his book and me sitting in bed and we sat there for another twenty minutes before lunch had been delivered to my room. Although I wasn't hungry Daichi made me eat as I skipped breakfast and we both knew that I was going to skip dinner. The silence continued for another three hours until I had to go to the bathroom and once I had come back I decided that I just had to say something. "I often feel quite alone in the world, like a small fish swimming by themselves in a large an empty world."

"But you are not alone Princess Selene." Daichi noted.

"That's because you're always here with me but there are times when you aren't here and I am truly alone. It's probably the most scariest times in my days, when I am by myself."

Daichi puts his book to the side and gets up from his seat and makes his way over to the bookshelf in my room and on the middle shelve he picks up what looks to be a black ball but in fact it's so much more. It was Luna P. A ball/device made for me many of hundreds of years ago when I was a toddler based on my mother's adviser Luna. It looked like a toy but she was more than that to me. My sister had a Luna ball first before I was born and after, but it changed in to her first scepter after she became a senshi. Pluto gave me the my own Luna ball when I was three years old, it's just like Small Lady's one, but slightly better as my kitty ball can recorded and do play back as well as other things such as hypnotizing people – so I've heard and turning it to all sorts of toys. "You don't have to be, she was here for you when I wasn't and she can be again." Daichi says as he walks over to me and holds out Luna P towards me.

Slowly I take Luna P and I press her nose to reactivate her and immediately her eyes light up and she begins to hover. I played with Luna P everyday right up until I was eleven years old, I don't remember why I stopped though, Luna P was and still is my best friend. When my mother and I got into an argument about why I couldn't leave the palace, when I was seven. I locked myself in my room for two weeks and just played with my Luna ball. Once I finally left my room I didn't talk to anyone for four months, not even Luna P or Daichi but I didn't have to, as my kitty ball understood me. I remember, one day I was eating breakfast and my father had just failed again to convince me to say something. When Luna P bumped me on the nose and made some beeping sounds and hit my father on the head, which caused me, to laugh and to speak for the first time in months, I said "I love you, Luna P!" before grabbing my ball and leaving the room. "Hello Luna P, I've missed you dear friend." I softly say.

"Beep… Beep." Luna P says as she bumps her nose, it was how she displayed her feelings of affection to me and it was always a source of comfort to me. Luna P understood me better than anyone else in the world including Daichi and my father.

"Abracadabra Pon!" I said as I gently threw Luna P up into the air, Plu (Sailor Pluto) had told me to use this phrase whenever I was said and that Luna P would perform a magic trick to cheer me up and like always she didn't disappoint me. Luna P surprised me by having firework sprout out of her antenna and once they were over I pulled her towards me and hugged her. "Thank you Luna P."

"Beep… Beep."

"You and Daichi are the greatest friends that I could ever ask for." I tell Luna P and she rewards me with some more nose bumps. Daichi sits back down and resumes reading his book whilst I sit in bed whilst Luna P hovers beside me and I fill her in on everything that's happen whilst she's gone. And it does take longer than expected as I'm filling her three years worth of information until the door opens and in walks my father stopping me completely and Daichi wordlessly gets up and leaves the room.

"Selene…" Papa begins with his head hanging low as if to tell me how guilty he feels about leaving me alone.

Before I can ever say anything or open my mouth to yell at him, Luna P whizzes over to him and repeatedly knocks him on the head rather hard. "Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"

"Ow…" Papa says surprised as he rubs his head as he looks at Luna P, I stopped playing with Luna P a while ago so her sudden reappearance was bound to raise questions with everyone in the palace not to mention the small fact that Luna P despised Papa especially when he upset me. And since she was here to defend to me, not only did she protect me from any attacks but she also protected me when I unhappy which meant she'd willingly attack my parents when they made me sad. "Luna P, huh? Good to see you again…"

Papa was rewarded with another bump on the head for his tone of voice. "Luna P and I don't appreciate the manner in which you're addressing us and we would both like it very much if you would leave us alone because we don't want to hear anything you've got to say." I state as Luna P places her self next to me ready and willing to attack my father again.

"Sweetheart, you have ever reason to be mad at me." Papa tells me.

"You promised me. You swore to me every day that you wouldn't ditch me. But you did Papa." I slowly state.

"I know I did Selene, but this meeting came up and your mother needed me to go with her."

My mother was undoubtedly the most powerful woman in the universe, I'm pretty sure that she could have attend a simple meeting by herself. ""Did she need you to or did she just want you to?" I demand and my father looks away so I decided to ask again. "Let me rephrase the question King Endymion, could Neo-Queen Serenity have attended that meeting without out you?"

"Yes." Papa finally admits as he sits down on the edge of my bed.

"I thought so." I retort as I lay back down in bed, I was done with my father for now.

"I will make this up to you Selene

"Don't worry, I'm used to constantly being let down by you and mama." I sneer and Papa sighs and as he attempts to move closer to me Luna P bumps him on the head.

"Beep… Beep." Luna P angrily beeps, making it clear to Papa that he was not welcomed nor wanted here any longer.

"I love you Moon Star." Papa says as he tries to win me over but I ignore him and stare at my ceiling, my father was not worthy of my love after what he had done today. Despite this he continues to sit on my bed for a further ten minutes until he either he realizes that he's messed up for good and Luna P won't let him get away with upsetting me or the mental message I've been trying to send telepathically in vain have finally worked.

"You always know how to make me feel better, thank you Luna P. I love you the most out of everyone…" I whisper to Luna P as I pull her closer to me and I closed my eyes and began to dream of the day when I might be free. But I knew would never come.


	6. Chapter 6

"Your father wishes to see you, how long are you going to keep ignoring him, princess?"

I looked up from floor to where I was playing with Luna P to where Daichi was sitting and playing the piano, usually when he played I accompanied him with my violin. But as I had left my violin in my father's office and it had been days since he blew me off to go to that meeting that Mama 'needed' him to go to and I still wasn't speaking to him, and I could not go into my father's office without him being in there so I was not accompanying Daichi today. "I don't know what you're talking about." I sourly state even through I did but I was still bitter over it and would rather not be talking about it.

Daichi's rich and vibrant laugh rings across the room. "Yes you do Selene but nice try, it's impossible for you to stay mad at the King, you love your father too much to ever remain being mad at him, I know that and so do you princess."

"I don't want to see him not after what he did and if he even attempts to come and see me then Luna P will be ready to attack him." I reply and Luna P beeps in response, she was always willing and ready to attack parents much to my amusement, although it was more Papa than Mama.

"How is the King supposed to gain your forgiveness if you don't even let him try? We both know that he is sorry for what happened and that the last thing he wanted to do was upset you Princess Selene. So give the poor man a break, he is the King of an entire kingdom not to mention a parent to you…" Daichi tells me and I hate the fact that he knows me so well.

"He shouldn't have to gain my forgiveness because he shouldn't have let me down, he promised to spend time with me and he promised that he wouldn't ditch me like always. Papa swore to me that he'd be there and nothing would stop him from spending the day with me yet he chose Mama and some boring meeting over me, yet again. If I wanted false promises then I would have gone to my mother. Anyway you should be mad too Daichi, Papa did take away your day off and ruin whatever it was you had planned away from here." I say with a small sigh, Daichi was the lucky one out of the two of us. Whilst I was a princess and stuck in the palace, Daichi was able to come and go as he pleased whenever he wasn't with me. Which was rather rare as if he wasn't with me then he was either sleeping or with his father.

"Actually I was planning on staying in the palace, so there really was no bother on my part."

"Daichi your seventeen year's old, son of the captain of the palace guards and yet you like to spend your time babysitting me of all people. Why aren't you out in the world living your life?" I demanded, Daichi had the luxury of leaving the palace but yet he chose to remain inside, to which I had no complete understanding. "Surely there must be something else that could serve your time better?"

"Firstly there's nothing I'd rather be doing because my duty is first and most importantly to you Princess Selene and the rest of the royal family. Secondly, how on earth am I supposed to protect you if I'm outside and you're in here?"

"You really need to get out more Daichi, if you're thinking like that." I quip, as selfless as Daichi was to protecting me, it really wasn't doing any good for him as I wasn't exactly the best company to be keeping.

"Laugh all you like Princess Selene but I take my duty very seriously, I considered it to be an absolute honor when your parents asked me to protect you all those years ago." Daichi says not once taking his eyes off the piano.

"Even after all this time and what I've put you through?" I question in all seriousness, Daichi had been protecting me or as I called it, being by my side since I was seven and he was ten. "I know I'm not exactly the most well behaved Princess and I will admit that I am quite difficult to deal with."

"I'd serve you forever, if you'd have me Princess." Daichi tells me and I can't help but believe him as he hasn't left my side once in all the time that I've known him. He is the only constant thing in my life and I treasure him for that.

I wearily sigh. "Daichi, will you stop calling me that!"

"Stop calling you what your highness?"

"That!" I say referring to my title, normally it only bothered me when people called me Selenity but Daichi calling me my title was weird as he was more of a friend that a protector to me. "Stop calling me Princess."

Daichi laughs from the piano. "But why, after all you are my princess…"

"That doesn't mean that I want you to be calling me it, you know that I prefer just being called Selene and I if had my way I would just be Selene, no princess or fancy titles or names."

"But I like your name Selenity."

"Of course you do." I reply as Luna P sits herself on top of my head.

"You don't like it?"

I wearily shrug my shoulders. "Well I don't dislike it and I can't imagine being called anything else be it Selene or Selenity and I am named after my grandmother who sacrificed herself to save the Moon Kingdom in order for this future to be possible which is pretty cool but I'm just Selene…"


	7. Chapter 7

I felt hot and stuffy not to mention that I couldn't sleep so after a while I finally climbed out of bed. I needed to get out of my room by my parents didn't like it when I wondered around the palace unattended - hence Daichi – and at night, so I had a guard posted outside my door at night. Making as little noise as possible as I opened my bedroom door and Luna P bobbed out of the room, to create a distraction in order for me to escape. It wasn't long before I head a crash and I could hear the guard muttering disapprovingly as he went after Luna P giving me my chance to escape. Sometimes late at night I'd wait until practically everyone was asleep and the guard who posted outside my door had gone on a small break to sneak out of my bedroom, At night the palace was even more guarded but it was more quieter and it was easier for me to sneak around although Daichi had caught me plenty of times despite the fact that he himself should have been in bed. I snuck to the palace gardens and I hid myself in a secluded part of the gardens and minutes later Luna P joined me.

"Good job Luna P, that may have been some of your finest work yet." I tell my ever-faithful friend, as I sit down close to the crystal that protects me and look out. I could always depend on her when I couldn't depend on anyone. Not only was she my protector but she was also my best friend. I was very lucky to have her. Heavens forbid how I'd pass the years by without her guidance and companionship, I'd happily trade her in for my mother as bad as that sounded. But I liked Luna P whereas I didn't like mama in the slightest. I thought of her as cruel, selfish amongst several other things but most importantly a liar.

"Beep… beep." Luna P responds quietly, careful not to draw any attention to where we're hiding. If anyone found us out here and told either my parents I'd get into big trouble. Despite the reason that I had no idea why I wasn't allowed to go walk around the castle at night, the truth had always been forbidden from me and it was utterly frustrating the lack of control I had over my life. It's not like I was bound by duties as I only had a few duties myself and most of them didn't involve doing much. I was instead bound by parents choices and rules over my life, which seemed to get even more stricter and rigid as the years went by, much to my dismay and frustration.

She's worried about me. She wants me to go back to bed and get some rest because I have this sickly pallor to my skin, particularly my face. Luna P thinks I'm sick and she's probably right I haven't been feeling too well for the last few days but seeing as I've been in my room most of the time I didn't think too much of it. Until now "I won't be too long, I promise. I just want to look at a view from other than my bedroom window, if even it's tainted by this horrible crystal…"

The two of sit there in a comfortable silence for about ten minutes before Luna P gently prods me. "Beep… beep…"

It's not because she wants me to go back to bed, she wants to know what's wrong because according to Luna P I look sad and she wants to make everything better as that is her job. It's not just to protect me and keep me safe but it's also to make me happy. "There's an entire world outside these crystal walls and I've seen the entire planet from space, my mind but I'm not allowed to experience it or feel it. Instead I'm stuck in here all the time and I am suffocating being trapped in here all day…" I reveal.

"Beep… beep… beep."

"I may dream of independence and having the freedom to do what I desire whenever I desire and go wherever I want to go but I know that's not possible. Not with all these rules in place. You know Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom had rules just like me when she was a child? They called it the Kensington System; the then princess was never to be apart from either her mother, tutor or governess. She was then isolated from other children and the they controlled who the young princess was to meet. They say Victoria's mother was controlled by a controller and it was the two of them who came up with the rules because they wanted to make the future queen weak and dependent on others so she would only listen to her mother and her mother's advisor… there are many frightfully similarities between her and myself." I wearily say as I finger the crystal that surrounds the palace, which is there to keep us safe or rather keep me in.

"Beep."

"I want to be able to hope again, is that too much to ask for? What life am I supposed to live if I'm locked up in here for my entire life?" I ask with a woeful sigh, my life was simply unbearable at times.

"Beep… beep."

I laugh as I briefly wipe my sweaty brow, I wasn't feeling too great for some reason and it just seemed to get even worse with time. "I know I'll always have you Luna P and for that I am grateful You make my world a little less lonely and I can't imagine it without it, You will always be my best friend–" I begin but I stop half way as a wave of dizziness sweeps over me despite the fact that I'm sitting down.

"Beep!"

"Okay Luna P you win, I am going back to room now and then I will proceed to get into bed and sleep for a good few hours like the good little princess that I am." I say finally caving and getting up but moments after I do my knees suddenly give out and I fall onto my side and everything begins to spin and I can't help but close my eyes as I feel so weak.

"Beep! Beep!"

I force myself to open my eyes and when I do I see that Luna P's face is directly hovering over mine and she is literally going berserk at what's going on from what I can gather. I don't think I've ever seen her this made before in my entire life and trust me that was a very long time. "Don't worry about me… I'll be fine… j-just give me a few minutes to rest…"

"Beep!" Luna P replies and I can barely make out her form as I see her whiz away in the direction of the palace no doubt to go and get some help. My eyes close on their own and I try my best to stay awake, silently praying that Luna P won't get my parents, as sick as I possibly was I still didn't want to see either of my parents. I wasn't sure which one I disliked more this week; mama or papa and oddly enough that was new one for me. I never had to think of which one I disliked more as it had always just been one of them; my mother. I'm close to falling asleep of losing consciousness when I hear footsteps approaching along with the sound of Luna P.

"Selene!"

My mind decides to go blank at this precise moment and I can feel myself lose consciousness so I don't know whose with me apart from Luna P. But all I know is that I know their touch. It's one that I trust as it's one that make me feel safe and comforted. So I stop fighting and allow myself to fade away into the darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

Daichi patiently stood outside Selene's quarters as he waited for news on the princess, the king and queen had been inside with Selene for almost an along with Sailor Mercury or as she went when she wasn't in her senshi form; Dr. Mizuno. He had been woken up late in the night by the princess' companion Luna P and forcefully removed from bed by here. He barely had time to throw on his uniform as Luna P kept repeatedly hitting him on his head until he finally moved. The floating sphere made him follow her to the palace gardens where he found the princess laying on the ground, with a high fever and unresponsive. Which is how he ended up here, he had ordered Luna P to go get the king, queen and Dr. Mizuno whilst he took the princess back to her bedroom. Luna P did accept being told what do lightly and hit him on his head to make sure he understood that. Minutes later Dr. Mizuno left the room and gave no inkling on how the princess was doing.

"Daichi?"

"Your majesty." Daichi replied with a bow of his head as King Endymion came out of the princess' bedroom still dressed in his pajamas. The worry on his face was evident, as the king loved his youngest daughter very much despite the fact that she currently wasn't speaking to him. "May I ask how the princess is doing?"

"Selene is very sick and Ami suspects that she must have been feeling unwell for the last couple of days. I've tried to heal her but that didn't work, we're hoping that she'll start getting better when her fever breaks, until then all we can do is wait." Endymion said with a heartfelt sigh as he glanced back into the room, he was always worried about Selene in the back of his mind but never as much then when she was sick. Usually he'd be able to make her feel better but it wasn't working, so all he could do was watch his sick child in pain.

"If I had any indication that the princess was sick, I would have–" Daichi began.

"This is not your fault Daichi, we both know that Selene is a very stubborn young lady and if this is anyone's fault that it is mine. If I had taken her to Elysion like I promised her then she would have come to me when the symptoms first became apparent." Endymion grimily replied.

Daichi could see the distress that the king was under due to the fact that Selene had yet to speak to him in close to two weeks. "She misses you Sir, she just won't admit to it yet."

"I miss her too. Selene has no idea of how much of an effect she has on everybody here." Endymion began and Daichi could only agree with that, Selene just had a way about her and it drew people in whether they liked it or not. "Will you be staying with her?"

"Of course."

"Thank you for everything Daichi." Endymion said placing a hand on Daichi's shoulder before walking away from Selene's quarters and down the palace hallway no doubt heading back to his and the queen's quarters on the other side of the palace.

Daichi resumed his post of guarding Selene, feeling rather relived at getting some news of how the princess was doing. Although they couldn't be too sure that the princess was going to be okay, he knew that Selene would get through this. After all she was her parents daughter no matter how much she hated to admit it. Standing there Daichi was surprised when Luna P came floating out of the room and gave him a bump on the nose. Those were usually reserved for the princess as a sign of affection as Luna P didn't really like anybody except for Selene and a few of the planetary senshi. He took this to a thank you from the hovering sphere ball. "Your welcome." He told her, although they butted heads in a manner of speaking they both had the same purpose and that was to protect Selene.

"Beep… Beep…" Luna P said as she floated behind Daichi and forcefully pushed him into Selene's room. For a floating ball she sure was very determined not to mention very strong. Explained why her and Selene got on so well.

"Your majesty." Daichi began once he entered Selene's bedroom and found Neo-Queen Serenity sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her daughter sleep. Selene looked an awfully like the queen, they shared the same facial features but there was a few subtle differences like Selene having King Endymion's eye colour and ears.

"Daichi, I see that Luna P delivered my message of asking you to come in here." Serenity said as the aforementioned ball and companion floated back to Selene's side. Luna P wasn't that big of a fan of the king and queen because she took her charge's side whenever it came to a problem involving the princess and her parents. The floating ball had shown utter disrespect for both king and queen on various occasion, well actually it was more a constant thing and did so by repeatedly bumping them on the head whenever Selene was upset and she blamed them for it. So it was odd for Daichi to hear that Luna P had followed an order of the queen's.

"Yes she did." Daichi replied.

Serenity managed a smile. "Good because I wanted to talk to you Selene…"

The last time that Neo-Queen had said that exact same sentence to Daichi was years ago and despite how long it had been he would always remember what the queen had said to him.

_"Neo-Queen Serenity, you told me that I must protect the Princess always but if she is never to leave the palace wouldn't she be fine no matter what?" A ten year old year Daichi asked as he stood with the Queen watching a seven year old Princess Selene play in the palace gardens. _

_"You make a perfectly good point but what I really need you to do is protect the princess' heart and spirit, do you understand me Daichi?" Serenity asked but yet the young boy looked at her in confusion. "Shortly after Selene was born, the King and I decided that Selene was never to be allowed to leave the palace–"_

_"–Never?" Daichi asked in shock._

_Serenity grimly nodded. "Yes never, although we live in peaceful times not everyone always wishes peace among our universe and as the princess cannot defend herself she must always remain here in the crystal palace so she will always be safe. But the older she gets, she will not like it and already she asks questions as to why she must stay in the palace, which is where you come in Daichi. Selene is many things smart, beautiful and kind but she is also headstrong, determined and hates being told what to do and will not like this at all. She will not like Endymion and I for forcing this upon and she will cry and be sad."_

_"What I am supposed to do?"_

_"Stay by her side and make her laugh and keep her happy as best you can and comfort her when she is sad. Be the one she can always turn to…"_

And that's what Daichi had been doing ever since to the best of his ability, protecting Selene's mind, body and spirit. "What would you like to discuss?" he asked.

"Just tell me how she's doing, Selene refuses to spend any time with me and seeing as she is mad with Endymion at the moment, neither of us really know what's going on at the moment. Don't spare me anything, no matter how bad you think it may be…" Selenity said.

Daichi took a deep breath before he spoke, even though the queen said she wanted the truth this was going to be hard for her to hear. "She's frustrated and grows even more so by the day, the princess doesn't understand why she's being controlled by so many rules and not allowed to leave the palace and is convinced that you and the king do this simply because you can. Princess Selene is constantly lonely even when others surround her but now she hides it so well that you would never be able to tell. She used to cry but now she doesn't, she says that she only expects disappointment from you and the King because she doesn't believe in you anymore whereas she still has the tiniest shred of belief in the king. She respects you as the queen but not as her mother..."

"I thought so, Selene is an intricate person and very much like me when it comes to being led by her emotions but like Endymion when it comes to keeping things to herself… I can handle Selene being mad at me, even hating me as long as that means she is safe. That's why we do this to her because we want her to be safe; that is all Endymion and I have ever wanted for Selene. To be safe and happy…" Serenity said with a sigh.

"Your majesty the princess does not hate you even if it seems like it, she loves you very much it's just that none of this is easy for her at the moment." Daichi informed her.

"She's very fond of you Daichi, I can see why." Serenity said with a smile and Daichi chose not to respond to this, years ago when he was much younger his father said to him no matter how much affection that the princess had for him, the two of them were simply not meant to be and that the only way he could and should show his affections for her was to serve the princess as best he could. It made sense to Daichi in a logical manner at the time but not to his heart for some reason and even after all these years he didn't know why.


	9. Chapter 9

The glaring sunrays coming in through the windows are what wake me and as I sit up in bed I wearily rub my eyes as I look around to find that I'm in my bedroom although I don't remember how I got here. The last thing I remember is leaving my bedroom and sneaking off to the palace gardens with Luna, so how I've wound up back in here is a mystery to me. Something else that is puzzling me is Daichi, who is sitting in my armchair quietly sleeping much to my amusement as in all the years I had known him never had I seen Daichi sleep and often did I wonder did he ever sleep. "He refused to leave. He's been by your side this entire time."

I'm surprised to hear my name being called and so I look to my left and see my father standing in the door way and as confused as I was, I couldn't help but narrow my eyes at him because what was he doing here? I may not know how I ended up back in bed but I certainly remember the fact that I am currently not speaking to him after he broke yet another promise to me. But if I am to find out what's happened I have to speak to him if I want some answers. "What happened? I don't remember anything…" I admit.

"You've been sick with a virus and three nights ago you suck out to the palace gardens where you collapsed, Luna P was with you and she went to go get help and Daichi found you and brought you back here where you've been in and out of conciseness for the last few days." Papa told me and I slowly nodded as I supposed that made sense as no matter where I went or tried to hide Daichi always found me.

"Well done Luna P!" I softly and quietly tell my friend and she bobs along into my lap and I pull her into a hug before letting her go and climbing out of my bed I make my way over to the armchair that Daichi is sleeping. I kneel down and gently brush my fingers against his cheek before moving a curl of hair out of his face. Growing up as the son of the palace guard Daichi grew up the embodiment of a good soldier; brave courageous, obedient, patient but never had I seen him look so vulnerable, young and dare I admit it sweet. "What am I going to do with you Daichi? I keep telling you that you need a break but never do you… Always putting my needs before your own, you silly boy."

"You didn't tell him that you were feeling ill." Papa said and I turn my head briefly away from Daichi to look at my father.

"Daichi is my guard not my mother, not that I'd even tell mama that I was feeling unwell but you surely must get my point. Daichi does more than enough for me already and I've been trying to put less burden on him given that for some reasons thanks to you and mama his life revolves around me."

"Why didn't you come to me Selene?"

"Don't ask questions about things you already know the answer to, you know why I didn't come to you so just leave it alone already. I'm awake and I feel fine so you can go back to your duties, surely King Endymion must have better things to do with his precious time." I state, hinting to wanting my father to leave already.

"You're my daughter, your health is the most important thing to me Selene." Papa says.

"Then you should be the one sitting here in this armchair sleeping because you're exhausted after watching over me for days on end instead of Daichi! He is only my guard and like you just said to me papa, you are my father but yet it is Daichi who sits here now, he is the one who is always here with me. Where were you papa and where on earth was mama? I see Daichi more than I do my own family, at times I don't even see you for days and sometimes weeks on end and it's the same with mama which I'm grateful for most of the times and up until a week ago I hadn't seen Small Lady in weeks." I retort, standing up careful not to wake Daichi.

"I know and it shouldn't be like that, we all need to make more of an effort to see each other and spend time as a family but that also includes you Selene, such as when you decide at the last minute not to join us at dinner."

"Why am I going to make an effort for people who don't want to see me? You want to know why I don't turn up to dinner it's because of that and then the other times I don't show up is because I don't want to see any of you. It's that simple. I don't want to sit at a table with a family that I sometimes wish that I didn't belong to because it's obvious that I don't belong."

"Selene…" my father begins.

"No papa, let me finish… There's you and mama, with your epic love that has transcended space, time and death numerous times. The two of you belong together in more ways then one and it's clear for everyone to see given how you provide each other with strength and power not to mention Small Lady who was born from the love you share. Usagi, who is the beloved daughter and cherished by you and mama through out time literally not to mention the entire world and she will one day ascended the throne of both the moon and earth. Then there is me, Princess Selenity the so called miracle child of the silver millennium who unexpectantly came along and who no one really knows what do with given that she's not a senshi and she won't become queen so instead they just lock her up in the palace and forget about her." I state.

"That's not what it's like and you know that Selene! It's not how you're describing it!" Papa tells me.

"It is exactly what it's like and it has always been like that which is how we've ended up here. And I should be mad although right now I'm not mad even in the slightest not even with mama or Small Lady and I'm even going to forgive you for abandoning me yet again when you promised me you wouldn't. However not right now but I will eventually and it's not because I'm over what you did; I'm forgiving you because you are my father and it is the right thing for me to do."

"Selene."

"You can go now, I can take it from here." I say dismissing my father before proceeding to turn away as to let him know that this conversation is over and I see Luna P vanish out of my eye sight no doubt to hurry him out of the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Patience. It wasn't something of a strong suit of mine, in fact it was sort of something I lacked which was kind of funny in a way because patience was something you'd think a princess would have but not me. Especially in this particular moment because I was worried as Daichi had caught the illness that I had and whilst he had been by my side the entire time, I had to stay away from him. It wasn't because people were worried about me getting sick again, it was because I was the princess and he was the son of the head of the palace guard. They said the guards quarters was no place for a princess to be so I was forced to stay away. I didn't like being told that and I certainly didn't like not having Daichi around, it made me feel uncomfortable not to mention anxious. Hence me pacing around the palace gardens in an anxious manner whilst Luna P just stood there and watched.

"I'm worried Luna P it's been three days already and nothing has changed and no one is telling me anything, they keep saying that Daichi is still the same." I say as I continue to pace barefoot in the grass.

"Beep…"

"I know that I was ill for the same amount of time but this is different, I didn't get sick because of somebody else where as Daichi is. He became sick because he didn't leave me side, not once. I want to see him for myself and check that he's okay…" I tell my kitty shaped ball. Normally I didn't have a problem with being told that I couldn't see someone and on those rare occasions I used my abilities. When it came to my powers in particular televiewing everyone was fair game to me except for Daichi, he was the only person who I didn't spy on with my abilities given that he gave me privacy whenever he could despite his job requiring him to always be with me. So I extended the same curtsey to him and gave him privacy from my mind's eye.

"Beep beep…" Luna P said.

"Agreed! We'll go and we won't let them stop us!"

"–Won't let whp stop you?" A voice asks from behind me and turning around I see that it's Minako and Makato or rather Sailors Venus and Jupiter given that the two of them are in their senshi uniform.

"Nowhere." I quickly say with a smile plastered on my face, growing up in the palace I learnt from a young age that it was best to keeps that others wouldn't approve of to myself and visiting my sick friend/guard was one of those things I needed to keep between Luna P and myself. Good thing was, unlike everyone I knew especially my mother I could keep a secret.

"And why do I get the feeling that isn't exactly true Selene?" Jupiter asks and I casually just shrug my shoulders.

"Selene?" Venus begins and I wearily sigh, normally I wouldn't give in so easily but I was lacking patience and in rather a bit of a hurry today. If answering their questions meant I could leave and attempt to sneak into the guard's quarters to check in Daichi then I would do it.

"It's not what your thinking, Daichi is stick sick and Luna P and I are worried about him so we want to go and visit him and see how he's doing, given that it's my fault that he's sick in the first place." I explain.

"Daichi?"

"Yes Daichi, he's 6ft 2 with dark curls, he's seventeen years old and has been by my side everyday for the last seven years not to mention his father is Captain of the palace guards." I explain giving a description of Daichi in hopes of moving thigns along so I could finish this conversation and be on my way. Don't get me wrong, I love Venus and Jupiter, I love all the senshi as not only do they protect me, my family and the rest of the solar system including their own planets but each of them are also family. However right now I was kind of in a rush.

"Oh we know who he is." Venus said with a small smile.

"Then you know he got sick watching over me and i haven't seen him since and nobody will tell me what's going on or how he's doing and I'm really worried about him okay? He got sick because Mama and Papa insist that he is with me at all times, so that's where I'm planning on going if you really must know. I want to go see him and see how he is." I state in a rush,

"Selene, I don't think that's a good idea…" Jupiter tells me.

"You don't get it, none of you seem to get it. Daichi is more than just a guard that my parents force to watch me every single second of the day, more than just my friend. You all may think a couple of days apart from each other is no big deal but Daichi gives me stability, he's the most constant thing in my life and pretty much the only thing that keeps me sane in this place. I feel lonely without him…" I find myself admitting out loud, at times I was vocal in my opinion of never being allowed to go anywhere by myself and Daichi being forced to follow my every move but in reality I depended on him so much more than I thought I did.

Jupiter looked at me with wide eyes before her lips curled into a massive smile. "Selene, are you? Are you in–" Jupiter began before being nudged squarely in the ribs by Venus.

"She's doesn't realize it yet!" Venus murmured to Jupiter, but I managed to hear this as the Inner Senshi cannot whisper to save their lives.

"What haven't I realized?" I question as Venus and Jupiter share identical looks of happiness mixed in with pride and smugness. I felt like I was missing something that was right in front of me, I just didn't know what it was.

"You'll see…"


	11. Chapter 11

My feet were cold as I walked around the halls of the palace barefoot, which fitted my mood rather well as after my rather odd and confusing conversation with Sailors Venus and Jupiter I had attempted to go and see Daichi but I was stopped by several of the palace guards. To which I was now feeling rather blue about it and normally when I was feeling down about something I'd talk to Daichi about it or my father but neither of those were an option and bothering the senshi with my problems was something that was frowned up given that they had far better things to be doing with their time than listening to a whiny little princess. So instead I was going to a dark corner of the palace and read my book and perhaps join my family for dinner depending on my mood. As I walked along the hallway, Luna P was bobbing along with me quietly beeping and occasionally bumping me gently on the head in an effort to cheer me up. We walked past about a dozen people as we made our way through the palace until I saw someone I wasn't expecting to see; I saw him. Daichi walking towards me with his father. Not caring about royal protocol or the fact that Daichi was my guard, instead I ran over to him and literally leapt into his arms to hug him dropping my book in the process.

"Daichi!" I squeaked, it was hard to describe how happy I was to see him.

"Your highness…" Daichi spluttered as he face started blushing a furious shade of pink, no doubt because I've caught him off guard and displayed not proper behaviour of a princess in front of his father.

"Sorry I just got a bit over excited I'm just happy to see you, I've been worried about you these last few days." I admit with a small smile. "I take it you are well?"

"Yes ma'am." Daichi replies and I scrunch up my nose and being called ma'am, I was far too young to be called ma'am even if it was one of the few ways you could address a royal. Not to mention Daichi never called me ma'am, it was always your highness or a variant of Princess Selene or just Princess. He was a stickler for protocol but there very few but rare times when he would just call me Selene or Selenity, usually when I was upset. I liked it best when he called me Selene; I suspected he was calling me ma'am because of his father's presence. Daichi strived to be just like his father in hopes of one day taking over his father's role of captain of the palace guards.

"He's fully recovered and ready to return to duty." Daichi's father Captain Oshiro said.

"Then if I may Captain, can I commandeer your son? As you well know the King and Queen prefer it if I don't roam the palace by myself and they would be very much relieved to hear that I am no longer doing such a thing as your valiant son is once again keeping an eye on me." I say in my best princess tone of voice.

"As you wish your highness." Captain Oshiro tells me with a small bow before exchanging a look with Daichi before walking off and I wait until he's out of earshot before I turn to Daichi and speak.

"Ma'am, seriously? Just how sick were you Daichi? You know I hate being called ma'am even more than I hate being called by my full name." I state with a shake of my head. Judging by the frown on his face Daichi's mad with me or rather as mad with me as he can get which isn't much. No doubt this was about the hug in front of his father who frowns at such open behaviour between me the princess and his son the guard. "Daichi do you ever lighten up? Your father will get over it, given that everyone tends to brush off my errant behaviour…"

"Such behaviour between you and me is highly inappropriate Princess, there are rules and we both have our places." Daichi reminds me for about the ten millionth time since we've known each other but as much as he likes to remind me, I just as much like to disregard them. I saw no need to embrace protocol as I wasn't the King or Queen and I wasn't the crown princess. I was just that other princess.

"Your father is gone Daichi and nobody else is around, you can stop being such a wet blanket." I quip and I can see him trying his hardest to fight a smile. "Please? We'll do something fun that won't get you into trouble and I promise I'll go to dinner with my family tonight with no arguing, negotiations or funny business."

"What do you have in mind?" Daichi slowly asked.

Bending down I pick up the book I dropped in order to hug Daichi and hold it out towards him. "Well I was going to read this, so we could read this together."

"Edgar Allan Poe? Of all the books you could have possibly picked up to read you picked this up Selene? Why?" Daichi questions and I couldn't help but note he called me just Selene as he held up a book that held the entire collection of Edgar Allan Poe's poems.

"You like his work." I reply.

"Are you sure?" Daichi wearily questions and I nod my head. "Then lead the way."

With a smile I begin walking with a smile on my face given that everything has returned back to normal as I have both Luna P and Daichi by my side again. We walk in silence for the majority of the journey until we reach a room that hasn't been used since before I was born. It was the room where my parents bodies along with the Inner Senshi's bodies lay during the attack of the dark moon clan and where I lay too in a manner of speaking given how my mother was about three months pregnant with me when they attacked her and she along with my unborn self was incased into a protective crystal shell. As we walked further into the room I climbed onto one f the several chest tombs that were in the room and Daichi sat down on the floor leaning against the shortest end of the table and I laid myself down so my head was just above his. "Now that we're settled we can read."

"Which one?" Daichi questioned.

"I don't know, just open up any random page and we'll go from there." I reply as I find myself playing with one of Daichi's curls until he brushes my hand away.

"Princess…" Daichi warns but he doesn't sound mad, in fact he actually sounds amused.

"So have you found one?" I question.

"Found what?"

"A poem for us to read? That is the reason why we are here Daichi." I say before leaning forward and plucking the book out of Daichi's hands and without even looking I flick through the pages and stop at a random poem that was called Annabel Lee. "Found one."

"Go ahead then." Daichi replied.

"It was many and many a year ago, in a kingdom by the sea, that a maiden there lived whom you may know. By the name of Annabel Lee; and this maiden she lived with no other thought than to love and be loved by me–" I began.

"–_I_ was a child and _she_ was a child, in this kingdom by the sea: But we loved with a love that was more than love- I and my Annabel Lee; with a love that the winged seraphs of heaven, coveted her and me." Daichi continued and I was surprised that he could recite the poem word for word despite the fact that I had the book in my hands.

"And this was the reason that, long ago, in this kingdom by the sea, a wind blew out of a cloud, chilling my beautiful Annabel Lee; So that her highborn kinsman came and bore her away from me. To shut her up in a sepulcher in this kingdom by the sea." I continued.

"The angels, not half so happy in heaven, Went envying her and me- Yes!-that was the reason (as all men know, In this kingdom by the sea) That the wind came out of the cloud by night, Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee." Daichi recited continuing from where I had left off.

"But our love it was stronger by far than the love Of those who were older than we- Of many far wiser than we- And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee."

"For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes of the beautiful Annabel Lee; And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling-my darling-my life and my bride, in her sepulchre there by the sea, in her tomb by the sounding sea." Daichi finished and once he had the two of us or rather three if you include Luna P just sat there in silence for god knows how long until I notice that Daichi was looking at me in a funny way.

"What's with the funny look? Is there something on my face except for the crescent moon on my forehead?" I questioned.

"You had that look in your eyes." Daichi quietly replies.

"What look?"

"You know what look I'm talking about, stop pretending like you don't Princess." Daichi says referring to this apparent look I often got and according to Papa, I frequently got this vacant look in my eyes when I had drifted out of a conversation or got caught up in my thoughts, which terrified him and mama for some reason.

"Oh?" I quietly reply.

"What's bothering you?" Daichi questioned.

"I'm sorry that you were sick. I should have listened to you, and gone to Papa when I knew I was sick instead of being caught up in being mad with him and my usual stubborn self then I wouldn't have become sick and you in turn wouldn't have become sick." I wearily replied.

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is."

"I want you to listen to me very carefully, it wasn't your fault Selene and I don't blame you in the slightest. If anything I'm the one who should be sorry, I made a promise to stay by your side always and I've left you alone for almost a week, I won't let that happen again…" Daichi tells me and I believe him.


	12. Chapter 12

"…Selene."

Looking away from my window where I was idly staring at the view I have, I turn to see Daichi whose looking at me with a rather expectant look on his face, I knew what he wanted from me but I didn't want to do it. There were ten million other things that I'd much prefer to be doing with my time then go to dinner with my family. I always found it to be an awkward and constricting experience. It was a constant reminder that I didn't belong there, that I was the spare in the family photographs. "Do I have to?"

"You promised me that you would go to dinner with your family tonight and I distinctively remember you telling me that you would go without a fuss or any of your usual funny business. So come on princess, up you get." Daichi said holding out his hands towards me and ever reluctantly I take his hand allow Daichi to help me up.

"May the Goddess Selene, give me strength…" I murmur to myself and I hear Daichi quietly snicker at this despite the fact we both know that I'm not referring to myself. First as I'm not a goddess in any shape or form and the Moon Goddess Selene was what earth knew my Grandmother, Queen Serenity as. Sliding my shoes back on I turn to Daichi with a glum look on my face, I didn't want to do this but I gave him my word that I would go and I didn't want to go back on it so here I was, about to leave so I could have dinner with my family for the first time in about two and a half months. "Let's get this over with…"

"Yes, your highness." Daichi replies as we set off for dinner with my family, my quarters were on the very far side of the palace, as when I was eleven I had a rather heated argument with mother about the only thing we ever really argue about; my being stuck here in the palace constantly. After that particular argument I moved to the far side of the palace to gain what little privacy I could get in the Crystal Palace, although I use the term privacy very loosely. However moving my room to the other side of the palace did make it easier to avoid my mother, but she still managed to track me down. The walk to the dining room is in silence and when I arrive I take a deep brief and push the dining room door open; Daichi doesn't come, he always stays outside but Luna P comes in. When I walk in I notice mama and Small Lady busy talking a hundred miles a minute, which is nothing unusual as the two of them are very alike. Papa notices me as I sit down and greets me with a small smile which I fail to match, however my mother and sister don't notice me until minutes later. Like I told Papa, I didn't come to dinner because my family barely noticed I was there.

"Selenity, how nice of you to join us and Luna P too." Mama says and I feel Luna P gently bump me on my head as she knows that I hate being called by full name as it was too confusing for everyone. My mother and sister were both called Serenity as every ruler and by that I mean Queen of the Moon was called Serenity including my grandmother so having several Serenity's and a Serenity was complicated. There was no way I could change my name but to make things slightly easier I had everyone call me Selene.

"Selene, don't ignore your mother." Papa gently chides, giving me a look that is warning to behave and not to dwell on the fact my mother has called me Selene.

"I wasn't ignoring her, I just had nothing positive to respond with so I figured it would be best if I kept quiet." I told my father with an obviously forced smile.

"How was your day Selene?" Usagi asked.

"Excruciatingly boring and filled with despair and me wondering around the castle living my life to it's daily useless extent and contemplating my existence in this world. So nothing new Small Lady…" I quip as dinner is brought in and I immediately blanch as it's crab soup and I detest crabs, I'm not a big fan of seafood and I make it a habit of avoiding it and I look to my father who knows what's wrong. "I'm not hungry, may I be excused?"

"We're having dinner as a family so you will stay here Selene until the rest of us are finished." Mama tells me and I push my plate forward before sighing further down into my seat.

"Selene, why don't you have a little bit? You haven't eaten properly in days." Papa prodded and I just ruefully shook my head. There was no way that I was touching that soup, if my father wanted me to eat then he'd have to pour it down my throat himself.

"No thank you." I reply and soon enough my mind wonders away from me as the rest of my family get caught up in discussing something that absolutely has no interest in me whatsoever and I'm content enough at being ignored through the entire course of dinner until my attention is swiftly brought back to the conversation when I hear my mother say something I pray that I misheard. " –Ball? Did you just say ball?"

"Yes I did Selene." My mother replied.

"Why?" I demand as I hate balls and I mean I hate balls, even more than I hated crab soup and perhaps more than I detested my own mother!

"Your father and I thought it would be a good idea to throw a little ball to celebrate the peace across the entire silver millennium." Mama tells me and I just groan even more, balls meant getting dressed up and having people I barely knew come into the castle and try to make small talk with me.

"May I be excused?" I blankly ask and seeing the dismay on my face, my father motions that I am free to go, so getting to my feet I make a hasty exit out of the dining room without saying any goodbyes. This is why I refused to eat dinner with the rest of my family on a regular basis as I was ignored pretty much most of the time and then something always came up, be it a ball or my parents going away on some kind of a business trip. As I walk out the door Daichi is standing there waiting for me and he seems surprised to see me come out so early. "Crab soup."

"Ah." Daichi replies in understanding as we walk away, he knows how I much I hate crab soup so just by saying it, Daichi knows that the whole dinner situation has put me in a pretty fowl mood.

"We're even now, I went to dinner and played the dutiful daughter, if only for ten minutes." I quietly say as the three of us, including Luna P aimlessly wonder around the palace as I'm not even sure where I even want to. I just know that I want to continue walking.

"Do you want to eat?"

"I lost my appetitive." I announce before stopping in my step and placing my hands over my face as I take a deep breath, my seemingly good day had turned bad rather quickly. I felt so lost and unsure of myself right now, I just wanted to hide in some dark corner of the palace and hope that people would forget about me. Although that was impossible. I knew that as much as I dreamed of independence, I would never get it.

"Princess?" Daichi asks.

"She's throwing a ball." I quietly say, removing my hands from my face and taking a few steps forward and Daichi doesn't follow me. Instead he gives me a look of sympathy, which I really wished he didn't. Sympathy was not what I needed, I needed understanding but even more than that I needed freedom.

"I'm sorry."

"No matter how much I hate these parties I always have to go, play the part of the dutiful princess and smile no matter what. As the people will come in their droves for the magnificent ball at the Crystal Palace, they'll come to celebrate the peace over the silver millennium and will drink and dance the night away. But most importantly they will come for the opportunity to gaze upon the 'miracle' child. The second daughter of King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity, the daughter who only a select view have had the pleasure to see and for those who do get to see her, it is considered to be one of the highest honors. I am not an animal! I am just a girl but they come in their flocks and stare at me as if I'm some kind of freak! Or some animal locked up at the zoo!" I spit in disgust before I sigh and my legs give out and I sink to the floor and Luna P immediately navigates herself into my lap.

"Princess…" Daichi slowly begins as he joins me on the floor.

I wearily shake my head. "I don't mean to sound like a selfish brat Daichi, I honestly don't… I know I'm a princess and I have a duty to serve my people and I want to be a good princess but it's hard enough being me without people coming to stare at me. The pointing, the whispering and the eyes watching my every move constantly remind me that I am trapped in here. It just reminds me of everything that I'm denied…"

"Why wouldn't they want to look at you? Your highness, you really have no idea do you? I suppose it's not your fault I suppose but outside these walls you are infamous. Even to those who haven't met you, there are countless stories about the beloved youngest princess. When people who have met you speak of you they talk about how polite and gracious you are, the warmth and kindness that you seem to radiate to those all around you an most importantly they talk of your beauty. Selenity they don't stare at you because they pity you; they stare because they are in awe of how beautiful you are."

"Including you?" I wearily joke, expecting Daichi not to answer or to brush it off as me being silly but he doesn't.

"Yes, especially me." Daichi quietly answers and I can feel my eyes welling up as without a doubt, that is the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me and I raise my hand up and gently place it against Daichi's cheek. Until I saw my mother, that is…


	13. Chapter 13

Seeing my mother standing in front of us made Daichi back away and stand up promptly in order to bow to her, no matter what the situation of the time he was always the dutiful guard. Unlike him I chose to stay where I was and not get up however I did bow my head briefly. Despite my personal feelings towards my mother I was raised to be a respectful young lady and my mother just so happened to be my queen. My mother being here only meant one thing, that I was trouble because of the behaviour I displayed over dinner, which was nothing new. Most of the time I only saw her when I was in some kind of trouble, like always mama would lecture me about my not so lady like behaviour and I'd ignore her before blissfully returning to my idleness.

"Selene." My mother begins clearly asking me for me to come with her and without sighing, arguing or the use of any sarcasm in the slightest I rise to my feet in order to follow her. Daichi takes a couple of steps forward but my mother looks at him and shakes her head. "Daichi, you are relieved of your duties for the remainder of the day. I will make sure the princess returns to her quarters and does not wonder around the palace unattended once we're finished."

"Yes, your majesty." Daichi replies with a small nod before walking away and leaving my mother and I standing alone together for the first time in weeks. And it is just as awkward as one would expect, given that i go out of my way to interact with my mother as little as possible. I don't think we've been alone together for several weeks, maybe even a couple of months.

"If you'll follow me please Selene." My mother says and rather reluctantly I walk alongside her with Luna P bobbing along as we go along, I follow my mother across half the palace until we reach her and my father's quarters and she opens the door and motions for me to go inside. Taking a deep breath I slowly walk into my parents bedroom, which I haven't been inside for a while but looks just as I remember it. Perhaps even bigger, but it's still a beautifully decorated room with the huge white and fluffy bed and ornaments decorated all over the room. "Please sit."

Wearily eyeing my mother up I take a sit at her dresser as I wait for the inevitable to begin, making a mental note not to lose my temper with her as that would just get me into trouble with papa, which I was trying to avoid. "So…"

"I wanted to apologize." Mama begins.

"–Excuse me?" I ask flabbergasted, as that was the last thing I was expecting my mother to come out with, yelling most certainly about my mood behaviour over dinner but definitely not an apology.

"I want to apologize about dinner tonight, I forgot that you dislike crab and it wasn't until after you left and your father mentioned it that it came back to me. So I want to apologize for forcing you to sit through a dinner that you couldn't enjoy." My mother says and I'm still having trouble trying to wrap my head over this. "Have you managed to eat something since?"

"No, I don't have much of an appetite." I say after a few moments.

"So I've heard."

I can't help but frown, who had my mother been talking to about me and my eating habits? "From who?"

"Your father, he's worried about you as am I." Mama tells me and I look away to avoid her hawk eye gaze that is currently sitting on me and making me feel very uncomfortable not to mention awkward and constricting as if I was completely exposed.

"Papa is always worried about me, there's nothing new about that." I quietly reply as I was used to my father constantly being concerned about me be it because of my dietary habits, my intentional isolation from anyone, how I bottled up my emotions most of the time or my being constantly blue and not wanting to spend time with my family most of the time. I'd be surprised if there came a day that he wasn't worried about me as I knew that Papa worried and he was always checking up on me via Daichi although he wasn't aware that I knew he was getting daily reports about my well being.

"Your unhappy." My mother notes as she takes a step towards me.

"I'm always unhappy, but it's not like you care." I utter.

"Selene, don't say that… Your happiness means everything to me, it always has." Mama tells me and I see a look in her eyes that I don't like and so I turn around to avoid looking at her but I just end up facing her dresser and seeing my mother's reflection in the mirror. As much as I didn't like my mother, I looked annoyingly similar to her much to my displeasure except for my eyes, I had my father's stormy blue eyes. And now my mother's sad blue eyes are looking straight at me, now she's very worried about me. "Tell me what makes you happy–"

"Daichi." I say before realizing the implications of what I've just said and the moment I do, I feel a hot blush spread across my cheeks, I couldn't believe that I had just said that and apparently neither can my mother as I can see her looking at me with a surprised look on her face.

"He means a lot to you, doesn't he Selene–" Mama begins.

"I don't want to talk about him with you." I bluntly retort, choosing to look at anything and everything to avoid the soft and sympathetic look that my mother was currently giving me. The only thing that would make this entire situation worse was if my father was her and I pray like hell it stays that way.

"I understand." My mother tells me as she takes a couple of steps closer, so now she's standing right behind me and I see her gently rest her hand on my odangos. "May I?"

"Go right ahead." I murmur and my mother goes about undoing my hair before picking up a brush on her dresser and proceeding to brush my hair. Everyday my mother would come into my room and do my hair for me, she's take a brush and make sure to brush it until it was soft before tieing my odangoes and at night she'd undo them for me. Up until I was eleven and the issue of me not being able to leave the palace became more problematic and I one day told my mother point blankly that I didn't need her anymore as I was perfectly capable of doing my own odangoes.

"You remind me of…" My mother begins and I hope to Mars that she doesn't say herself as I know that I am nothing like my mother, that's Usagi. I am nothing like my mother in the slightest except for when it comes to physical appearance but even then there are a few obvious differences. "My mother, Queen Serenity."

"Huh?" I blurt out as I wasn't expecting.

"In a few ways Selene, in particular the way you hold yourself and the fact that you seem so sure of yourself and remain so calm and collected the majority of the time. Your innate gracefulness is something I think you got from her." Mama says giving me a small smile, she didn't talk about her other mother too much but I know mama had her memories of her previous life on the moon and communicated with her on occasion but Queen Serenity must have meant a lot to her for mama to name me after her.

"Her sacrifice was not in vain." I wearily said.

"Indeed not." Mama replied and as my mother gets on with smoothing out my hair, I look around her dresser and gaze at the various photographs on it until my eyes stop at one and I reach out and pick it up. It's a picture of me when I was very little, about two years and I have my arms around Luna P but because I'm so little my arms can barely fit around her and I'm sitting in my father's lap with a big toothy grin on my face.

"It's one of my favourite picture of you and Endy." My mother says allowing herself to use her nickname for my father in front of me. "When you were a child you used to love spending time with us, you'd wake up early in the morning and crawl into bed with us and Luna P woke up your father by sitting on his face. You came and sat with us in meetings… The day you were born was one of the happiest days of your lives."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes. It was a bit of a shock when we found out that you were coming along given the crisis we were dealing with but your father was ecstatic; we both were. We had known for years that we would have your sister but finding out about you was the greatest surprise that we had ever received." My mother tells me.

-"I'll go."

"Excuse me?" Mama asks.

"To the ball, I'll go." I announce, despite knowing I'd regret this I was suddenly feeling very co-operative with my mother given this odd mother daughter bonding time we were spending together without any arguments emerging. I was pretty sure that this was a record for the two of us. Looking up into the mirror I see my mother looks slightly taken aback by this. "You were expecting me to fight you on this, weren't you?"

"Perhaps." Mama admits and I see a small smirk on mine and her face.

"Don't worry, the next one I will." I playfully allow myself to retort.

"I love you Selene, you know that right?" Mama asks as she stops what she's doing and places her hands on either side of my shoulders and looks at me via my reflection in the mirror. No matter how much she annoyed me and I claimed that I hated her; the truth is that I loved my mother and I knew that she loved very much and would do anything for me. If I were in trouble or in danger, then mama would do everything in her power and beyond that to protect me. Even before I was born she protected me when she fell into a deep sleep when the dark moon clan attacked crystal Tokyo. Mama was attacked by them as was I in an abstract way and my mother fell into a deep sleep, incased in crystal protective shell. During that time her hands rested over stomach, protecting me her unborn child.

"I know."


	14. Chapter 14

I'm not psychic like Rei but even I knew something was wrong when my parents summoned me shortly after I had finished eating breakfast in the palace kitchens. I hadn't done anything wrong as far as I recalled so them asking to see me was unexpected along with the fact that I was to go by myself as in wonder the palace hallways unattended without Daichi following me. I was rarely ever allowed to wonder by myself, I always had to have someone with me be it Daichi, a palace guard, my parents or one of the senshi. I wasn't sure what to expect when I enter one of the state rooms but I certainly wasn't expecting to see Sailor Pluto with my parents. Pluto was the guardian of the time and as such guarded the space time door which is why I didn't see her too often unless I went to go see her.

"Plu?" I began.

"Hello my little lady, it's been a while but you have grown more beautiful in that time." Pluto replied.

"What's going on? Has something happened?" I ask as Pluto didn't normally abandon her post, unless there was trouble approaching or she needed to go to her planetary castle but if she had to leave the time gate she'd have someone stand in place.

"Selenity come here." Mama tells me holding out her hand towards me and I look at the offered hand wearily as not only is my mother asking me to take her hand but she's also calling me by my full name, so I know something serious is going on. It was just a matter. Taking a deep breath I walk a few steps before I take my mother's outstretched hand and she pulls me to her side.

"What's going on? Why's Plu here?" I ask looking between my parents and Pluto as clearly something was wrong for all three of them were here together and summoning me under very mysterious circumstances. I didn't like this, I didn't like this at all. I felt fear and worry gnawing at my stomach.

"We know that your unhappy Selene and have been for a while now." Papa tells me and look away to avoid the three pairs of eyes that are all looking down at me, I couldn't change the fact that I was so unhappy but at the same time I hated the fact that my unhappiness made my parents so sad, it was the last thing that I wanted the two of them to be. The two of them had been through so much, survived and came back from death from several times not to mention protected the earth that they deserved all the happiness they could get.

"Papa…" I begin.

"Your father and I hate seeing you like this, so we want to do something for you Selene and hopefully it'll make you happy." My mother tells me and I look her with a confused look on my face.

"Princess Selene, if you will." Sailor Pluto begins, motioning for me to give her hand and I look to both of my parents who both give me reassuring nods and so I give Pluto my hand and she slides something off her belt and places it in my hand. I can't help but look at Pluto shocked, I couldn't believe that she was doing this.

"What is this?" I wearily ask despite being very aware of what I'm currently holding, it was something only few people had and it was punishable for Pluto being giving this out, let alone me having it in my possession. Just having the key was taboo.

"You know what it is." Pluto says referring to the time key that she's just giving me, the key that will allow me to cross through space and tim

"Why?" I hoarsely ask.

"Your father and I want you to be happy, to enjoy your life and experience it like any other teenage girl your age and clearly you're not getting that here Selene. So we want to send you to the 20th century in hopes that during that time, we can give you the happiness that we cannot provide for you here." Mama tells me and honestly I'm stunned. This was the last thing I was expecting to hear or for my parents to do, I guess mama really meant what she said last night about my happiness being the most important thing to her. I'm actually gob smacked and my head suddenly feels like it's swimming and I have this desperate need to leave the room as I'm becoming severely overwhelmed

"E-Excuse me…" I murmur, letting go of my mother's hand before calmly walking out the room without even a second glance at my parents or Pluto. Once I'm outside I see that Daichi is waiting for me but I don't even acknowledge him, instead I keep walking until he walks ahead and turns to face me. Stopping me in my tracks. He knows something is wrong and judging by how he's looking at me, he wants to know what's wrong in order to make me feel better. I don't even know how to begin explaining this to him, so instead I hold out my closed fist to Daichi and he took my hand and slowly opened it.

"Selene, this is–" Daichi begins and the look on his face is no doubt the look that I had on my own face when I was handed the key.

"–A time key, I know." I wearily say as I look down at the small gold key that's sitting in my palm.

"Why do you have a time key?"

"They want to send me back, mama and papa. They want to send me to the past so that I can live a normal life, they think that sending me back to the twentieth century will make me happy. Their so worried about me that the two of them along with Pluto are willing to break so many rules…" I quietly say.

"Why aren't you more excited about this? Selene this what you've wanted for as long as I've known you; to be allowed to leave the palace. Although it's not exactly the way you envisioned it but you get to finally leave and be normal." Daichi questions.

"But I'm not normal Daichi, nor will I ever be as I'm a child born of two planets. A daughter of the earth and the moon. Daichi you don't understand, it's more complicated than that…" I reply looking back at the key in my hand, this was on a whole other level than me wanting to be able to leave the palace. Knowing what I had to do I turn around and head back to the state rooms where my parents along with Pluto remain but this time I allow Daichi to join the four of us and Luna P. Walking over to them, I hold out the key to Pluto. "I want you to take this back Plu, I don't want it."

"Princess…" Pluto begins.

"N-No, I can't take this. I won't take this." I reply adamantly shaking my head and trying in vain to give what was given to me back. I refused to take the time key.

"Selene please just let us do this for you, we just want you to be happy…" Mama begins.

"I know you do but I can't let you send me back to the past." I reply.

"Why not?" Papa asked.

"Because yesterday mama and I were talking and she told me that the day I was born was one of the happiest days of both your lives. Mama said that my arrival was unexpected and a very special surprise and I don't want to take that away from you Everyone knew about Small Lady's arrival and everyone was anticipating it given that you got to met her before she was even born. Mama found out that she was pregnant with me when the Black Moon Clan were attacking Crystal Tokyo and that news brought you joy in such dark times. I go back and it'll change everything, there's no way I can go back and be with you're past selves and no one realize that I'm related to you. Like everyone always tells me, I look so much like the both of you, besides it's not like I can hide this…" I admit, pointing to the crescent moon on my forehead for the last part of my statement.

"Moon Star, we'll figure something out." Papa tells me.

"The disguise pen, you can use that." Mama offers but I just shake my head and it's clear that my mother is close to tears by the way she's looking at me and the last thing i ever wanted to do was make my mother cry. "Selene, why won't you let us do this? We just want you to be happy."

"And I don't want to take that surprise away from you all, trust me mama this is for the best." I say, sounding more confident than I actually feel and so I place the time key in my mother's hand before leaving once again and this time for good.

"Why did you do that Selene? Why did you sacrifice your own happiness?" Daichi asks once we've left the room and I turn to him but before I can ever say anything I have to wipe my eyes, which I hadn't realized until now, had been tearing up.

"Because it'll change everything not only for them but for me, I go back and it may change everything, this timeline, the course of the future not to mention who I am. and I don't want them to love me any differently than the way they already do. I But most importantly I love them and their happiness means more to me than my own…"


	15. Chapter 15

In the days after I had turned down my parents offer to be sent to the 20th century, to be able to live among my parents whilst they were still young I had a flurry of visitors. The senshi along with many other came to see despite the fact that I was generally left to my own devices, the only people who did leave me alone were my parents and Pluto although I was well aware that my parents were covertly checking up on me. They knew that I needed some space and time to think after what had happened, something what I very much appreciated as I was still trying to process what my parents had offered me and the fact that I, in turn had turned their offer down. Sitting on the grass in the palace gardens I patiently fiddled with the flowers in front of me in order to finish the floral headdress that I had been working on for the last ten minutes with Luna P whilst Daichi sat on a nearby bench keeping a close eye on me until I became of two figures standing above me.

""No odangoes today?"

"Not today I'm afraid." I reply as I look up to see Sailors Uranus and Neptune standing over me and I offer them a smile, however I don't stand up as I'm as content as I can be sitting down on the grass with the warmth of the sun on my skin. As Uranus had pointed out, I had chose not to have my hair done up in odangoes today, instead I had left my hair out. A rare thing for me to do. "I've been expecting you."

"Is that so?" Neptune asked, with a playful tone in her voice.

"I've been visited by the other senshi including the quartet and Usagi, so I knew that the two of you were going to come eventually and take your turn in telling me that I made the wrong choice and that I should go to my parents and ask if I can take up their offer to go back to the twentieth century. But I won't change my mind, not on this." I admit as I pick up a white rose and work it into the headdress.

"Then it's a good thing we didn't come to change your mind." Uranus said and now I'm the surprised one.

"That was a very brave thing you did Selene." Neptune tells me as her and Uranus bend down to talk to me further.

"Mama threw herself into the galaxy cauldron in order to save not just you both, papa and all the other senshi but also everyone including Guardian Chaos and it's seed. Instead of choosing to end all war, as well as all life, she chose to preserve both despite knowing that as long as there was life, there would also be war. By doing what she did mama ensured that the stars would not die out and as such ensuring a future for the galaxy. That was a brave thing mama did, what I did wasn't. Part of why I said no was because of the possible implications of my going to the past will have but Part of it was because I was scared to go, in fact I'm terrified because this life is all I know. I spent my entire life confined in this palace, spending my time studying and wondering these lonely halls with only Daichi and Luna P for company. I don't know how to survive outside of this palace." I wistfully admit.

"Am I hearing this correctly? You're actually complimenting your mother?" Uranus asks half being serious and half in a joking manner and I wearily laugh as my 'problems' with my mother weren't exactly well hidden. It was very obvious for the entire court to see as I made no attempts to hide it.

"Not once have I ever said that I'm not proud of what mama has done as she saved all of us, she's saved this world and the universe so many times. Mama is my unreachable idol, I just don't agree with some of the things she's done especially when it comes to me. But I know that she is a good person and although I may not understand or like it most of the time, I know she's doing what she thinks is best." I say and even I'm surprised about how my attitude towards my mother has changed recently but I can see's trying with me, so I'm putting in a bit more effort too.

"So wise for such a young lady." Neptune tells me.

I shake my head. "The young cannot be wise, whatever wisdom you think I may have Neptune comes from those around me who are much older than me and have the wisdom of their years to offer."

"How are you my little protégée? You know I miss our sessions greatly." Neptune asks referring to how she taught me how to play the violin and whilst I was good, I was nowhere near Neptune's league. The two of us would play with each other frequently although that had happened as of late as Neptune hadn't been around much.

"Happy."

"Really?" Uranus asked, convinced otherwise as I wasn't a happy person by nature unlike some people I knew i.e Mama, Usagi and Minako/Venus. I was pensive or skeptic by nature depending on what day it was or what mood I was in at the time. That wasn't to say I was depressed as whilst I had bad days and felt down occasionally, I was content.

"Content as I've ever known myself to be." I reply as I add the finishing touches to my floral headdress and Uranus just smirks.

"I thought so, such beautiful eyes should not be filled with so much sorrow."

"But is it not with sorrow and hardship that character is built so surely my unhappiness can be seen as a good thing? It is with character that we develop a sense of self and become a stronger person because of it." I question and Uranus just laughs.

"You're a funny one."

"Princess…" Daichi calls out signaling that my short break is over and it's time for us to both return to the library and I look over my shoulder to him and nod slowly before turning back to Uranus and Neptune.

"I afraid I must return to my studies." I reluctantly say as I stand up and as I do Uranus and Neptune both remain at my feet but they look at briefly before bowing their head. It was something that never stopped doing despite my instance that they needn't bow to me as they along with the other planetary senshi were the princesses of their own respective planets along with being apart of our court and as such there was no need for formalities.

"Please continue to study hard sweet princess and we're sorry that we haven't been around lately, we promise that we'll try harder." Neptune tells me as her and Uranus rise and I smile as Uranus takes my headdress and places it on my head.

"You are forgiven, always and completely forgiven."


	16. Chapter 16

With my shoes in my hand I walked around the Moon Castle barefoot with Daichi and Luna P for company, today I had woken up feeling in need to do something different so I decided to go on a field trip. Justifying it by saying it was part of my history studies, seeing as I wasn't allowed to leave the palace I decided to do one better and leave the planet. I was allowed to leave the planet but the catch was that I was only allowed go visit the planetary castles which restricted me in a very loose way. I could have gone to any castle I wanted to but I had chose to go to the Moon Castle today as Daichi had never been there before. Usually I snuck off and went by myself so I wanted to finally bring him here and teach him about my heritage. For once I actually asked my mother's permission to leave the planet and she too was surprised that I was asking. For some reason I was behaving myself and acting to proper and polite to everyone I encountered although I had yet to come across my sister.

"The Moon Castle was the center of the Silver Millennium of the past, where we are right now… the location of the moon is Mare Serenitats which means…" I explain to Daichi as we walked out the main entrance of the castle towards some stairs.

"–Sea of Serenity." Daichi interrupted.

"Correct." I reply as I stop where I am to look all around. "You know Daichi back in this time my mama had fallen in love with papa and during those times communication between the earth and the moon was forbidden. Mama snuck down to earth as much as she could. One day he asked her what the earth looked like the moon and she told him that it looked like a beautiful blue marble. She was right."

"Very much so your highness…" Daichi replied as the two of us looked at the earth from where we stood and despite seeing it as it's true size numerous times. I was never failed to be amazed in awe of a planet that was home to so many and that I was a princess of.

"Daichi you do realize that it's only us and Luna P here, you can just call me Selene!" I say knowing full well that Daichi will ignore me, for someone who said that would serve me until the very end he was very selective with what orders he followed. Although I realized that Daichi didn't answer to me, he answered to his father and my parents. He was only allowed to follow my orders that were in reasons.

"Yes princess."

"You know my mother killed herself on these steps…" I casually say knowing that it would freak him out and the moment I said it, he stumbled a few steps back as if he was standing on the exact spot my mother killed herself.

"B-But…" Daichi stammered.

"I know… How can my mother have killed herself yet be alive and very much well? When Queen Metalia attacked earth in the 21st century it wasn't the first time, she attacked us back in the old Silver Millennium along with Queen Beryl who was a sorceress who was in love with papa. Beryl killed papa in front mama and she was so distraught that she killed herself with his sword as she could not bare to live with her Endymion. The two of them have a love that has transcended time and space, they will always find each other and because of that they have a love like no other." I said with a weak smile.

"So what happened next? After Neo-Queen Serenity killed herself?" Daichi asked.

"Back then my mother was only Princess Serenity but after she killed herself, Venus used the holy blade to kill Beryl. The Guardian Senshi were killed so after and my grandmother Queen Serenity unleashed the power of the silver crystal against Metalia. However she was so heartbroken about losing her only child that the seal was incomplete which is how Metalia, Beryl and the rest of the dark kingdom eventually escaped. Queen Serenity used the silver crystal to send mama, papa and all of the Sailor Senshi to the future on Earth where they would be reborn to hopefully live peaceful lives. However, just in case the dark forces would reawaken, she also sent Luna and Artemis the future to help the Sailor Senshi if need be. With the loss of the Silver Crystal and using all her remaining strength to save her people, the Queen died on the remains of the Moon Kingdom. She sacrificed her kingdom so we could remain our peace…" I revealed, swallowing the mother of all lumps in my throat.

"Selene…."

"Story isn't over Daichi…" I state as I begin to walk back up the stair towards the castle. "It turns out that when my mother was born Queen Nehellenia–"

"Of the Dark Moon Clan?" Daichi interrupted.

"Yes that one, well she confronted my grandmother who used the moon stick to seal Nehellenia into a dark mirror forever. In retaliation she placed a curse on the moon kingdom, the curse was that the moon kingdom would fall and my mother would never inherit the throne. And the curse eventually happened. The Outer Senshi didn't see the threat in time and could only watch as the moon kingdom fell. Back them their duty was not just to protect the Solar System form outside threats but to prevent Sailor Saturn's summoning as she is the bringer in destruction. When the Outer Senshi witnessed the fall of the moon kingdom they inadvertently summoned Saturn and she silently dropped her glaive." I said, nearing the end of my woeful story.

"She silently dropped her glaive? Princess what does that mean?" Daichi asked.

"Sailor Saturn's silence glaive is a powerful weapon and it was a symbol of the end of things. Whilst you should fear the glaive, you should fear it the worst when it silently drops because when Saturn silently drops the glaive it destroys world." I grimily said.

"Are you telling me that Sailor Saturn destroyed the moon kingdom?"

"No I'm telling you that she destroyed the remnants of the silver millennium and her along with the rest of the outer senshi were reborn on earth too."

"That is such a sad story Princess…" Daichi said.

"Yes it is but it's my history, it was a dark day when the silver millennium of the past ended but we wouldn't be here if that hadn't happened nor would the moon kingdom. When she defeated Queen Metalia on earth, Mama along with the power of the silver restored the moon castle." I said looking on the bright side of things for once and Luna P bumped me on the head in response.

"Beep… Beep."

"Ah! Thank you for reminding me Luna P I had completely forgotten, come along Daichi!" I chimed as I made my way back into the moon castle. As I walked down the hallways I could hear Daichi's footsteps following me as Luna P and I took the lead. The two of us walked until we came to a door that obviously lead to a room in the centre of the moon castle, it took a moment for me to recall whether or not I was at the right door but once I did I smiled. I used one hand to push open the door and with my free hand I took Daichi's hand in my own and pulled him along. "Follow me…"

"Princess where are we going?"

"You'll see." I said as we entered a beautiful yet fairly empty room that consisted of marble floors and stone pillars, much like most of the moon castle. But what was different about this room was something that stood in the middle of the room. "This is the Chamber of Prayer, it's a very special room in which only a few people are allowed to enter. Not even the senshi are allowed to come through those doors without permission. Only myself, Usagi and my mother are allowed in here…"

"Then I must surely go, as a lowly guard I have no right to be in here as this is a room that belongs to the daughters of the moon…" Daichi said attempted to leave the room but I kept a firm hold of his hand.

"I want you to stay, I brought you here for a reason… Now this room is very special for several reasons, my mother first brought me here when I was six years old. It was just the two of us, no Papa or Small Lady just Mama and me. Back before everything changed between us, back when she was the centre of my world… My mother brought me to the moon castle because she wanted me to know my heritage. She wanted me to know that I whilst I was born on Earth and live there, I am a child born of two planets and as such under the protection of both which is why I have the crescent moon on my forehead; to show that I am of moon. From an early age my mother wanted me to understand the history of where I came from and to never forget who I am…" Selene stated as she looked around this room.

"That's very important considering who your parents are princess."

"Indeed it is, when my grandmother Queen Serenity sacrificed her life by using the silver crystal to send my mother, her court and my father to a new future on earth her will was stored in the computer databanks of the castle. If ever I want to commune with her, all I have to do is come to this room…" Selene said.

"Amazing." Daichi quietly said before turning to name me. "You were name after her right?"

"Indeed, on earth Queen Serenity was knows as Selene, the goddess of the moon and since she already had a Serenity with Small Lady I was named Selene."

"You mean Selenity." Daichi corrected.

"Yes but that's not what I wanted to bring you here, I brought you to this room to show you the tower." I said as I pulled Daichi towards the Crystal Tower. "Now Daichi this is what I wanted to show you; the Crystal Tower, when my mother brought me into this room as a child she told me that if anything bad were to happen to earth and her nor Papa could be with me then I was to come straight here into this room. She told me to come to this room and pray to the Crystal Tower and it would protect me; it would protect all of us. That's why only myself, my sister and my mother are allowed in this room because we are the only ones who can pray to the tower. When my mother was fighting Queen Metalia on earth she prayed to the tower to give her the power to defeat that evil."

"Really…" I said letting go of Daichi's hand that I was holding and I placed it on the tower. "Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?"

"The power in the tower or course!" I state as there was nothing else that I could be talking about.

"No."

Sighing I retake Daichi's hand in my own and place my free hand on the crystal tower and from the moment I touched it I could feel the power of the moon pulsating against my skin. It was hard to describe what it felt like but there was a sense of comfort and familiarity for me. "Now can you feel it?"

"I can't feel anything Selene." Daichi said with a shake off his head and I really didn't get how he could not feel anything. I felt it and through me he should have felt it because that power was inside of me, I was a child of the moon not to mention a moon princess! I really wanted Daichi to feel what I was feeling so I looked at him and took a deep breath. The fact that I didn't have my shoes on would make this harder as Daichi stood a good six seven inches taller than me. Standing on my tiptoes I leant forward and I kissed Daichi. How long it was for I couldn't say but when I pulled away I looked him in the eye hoping for an answer to my question.

"Tell me you don't feel that."


End file.
